Born in Boston, Massachusetts on November 22, 1732 to Joseph Bridgham Esq. who was an esteemed Harvard-Educated physician, and the former Abigail Willard, whose father was president of Harvard University from 1701-1707. On September 13, 1760, he married Martha Bucklin, daughter of Nehemiah and Beriah (Read) Bucklin. Together they had six children: Abigail, Sarah, Charlotte, Joseph IV,  Martha, twin of Joseph, and Samuel Willard, who went on to become the first mayor of Providence, RI. 

 

Like his father, Joseph became a physician and established a thriving practice in Rehoboth. As a surgeon’s mate, he served with the Massachusetts forces in the French and Indian War in 1757, and also served at the siege of Fort William Henry in August of 1757. 

 

Joseph Bridgham III is listed on a monument in Newman Cemetery in Rumford, RI that is dedicated to the “Soldiers and Patriots” of the Revolutionary War. A patriot was a colonist who rejected British rule and supported American independence. One would either serve in the military, serve in legislative roles, or be one who provided supplies or paid special taxes to support the war. The Daughters of the American Revolution database lists Joseph as performing civil and patriotic service. He served on the town’s Committee of Correspondence. During the war, these committees were a vital network connecting patriot leaders across the colonies. They evolved from local groups formed to protest British policies into shadow governments that organized resistance, shared intelligence, coordinated actions like the Boston Tea Party, and ultimately paved the way for the Continental Congress and independence. During the war, he treated a local Continental Army soldier home on leave, John Allyn, who was suffering from a “bilious nervous fever”, which was most likely malaria, or hepatitis.  His fee to the State of Massachusetts was seven pounds, ten shillings and three pence, approximately $18.75 today. 

 

After the war, Dr Bridgham returned to Rehoboth. He became a wealthy landowner and donated an acre of land to the parsonage of the First Baptist Church. In 1781, he served as Rehoboth’s Collector of Taxes. He continued to practice medicine until his death on December 4, 1789 at the age of 57 after what was described as a long and painful illness. The family farm, located along what is now Pleasant street was passed down to his descendants and remained mostly intact until the 1990s when it was subdivided.  Joseph is buried in Newman Cemetery in Rumford, RI. His gravesite is marked with a slate stone which was carved and signed by JJ Fenner. Repair work on the stone was done in the spring of 2025. Todd Baptista and Troy Rebello of TNT Gravestone Solutions discovered that the gravestone was probably not Joseph’s original stone. The carver would have been only nine years old at the time. Joseph’s wife Martha’s gravestone is almost identical and most likely carved by the same person. She died in 1810 when the carver would have been 29 years old. It is safe to assume both stones were carved at the same time, replacing Joseph’s earlier one. 

 

As a testament to his life, Joseph’s epitaph reads:

“Usefulness added his luster to an honorable descent. As a physician, he was humane and successful; as a citizen adorned with many virtues: in his domestic character tender and affectionate and as a Christian exemplary and practical. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

 

Joseph Bridgham III is also remembered for his service in the fight for American independence. His contribution helped secure freedom for future generations.